THE WILL OF LOVE
by Ʋis
Rating: G - PG
Email: aeris_t@edsamail.com.ph
Webpage: Nightfall Wishes
Hiya! Pardon again, for much delay. Hope you don't give up on me!
Oh, and please, pretty please, visit Nightfall Wishes: nfwishes.20m.com!
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If she only knew
What I knew but couldn't say
If she could just see
The part of me I hid away
- "If She Only Knew" by 98 degrees
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FOUR
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In the room was tension, jumbled emotions, contradiction, and
deception. One was hoping, the other fearing, while the the remaining
one knew nothing.
"Excuse me," a small voice said, killing the silence in the room.
Faces snapped in her direction, and the fragile-looking nurse trembled.
"Doctor, the results are here."
"Ah, yes," the lady doctor said, a smile on her face. She was
oblivious to the disturbance the nurse caused to the couple before her.
"Bring it here, please."
The nurse gave a cautious look at the pair before running towars the
doctor, shoving the folder into her hands, mumbling some polite excuse
and then running out the hall.
The lady doctor, who seemed to be more than a little insensitive,
examined the results. Two pairs of blue eyes were glued onto her, one
pair the color of the ocean while the other the color of the sky, yet
she didn't seem to mind. Putting aside the folder, her smile grew even
wider, as the the worry on the faces of the two increased twofold.
"I have good news for you," the lady doctor said brightly, every bit
as bright as her smile. This woman's optimism was getting on their
nerves. She waited patiently for some response from the two, but when
it has become evident that they would not speak, she continued. "The
results are..."
The couple held their breaths. "Yes?"
"...you adorable young couple will live a peaceful life... with
dozens of healthy children."
Darien experienced a conflict of emotions: contrasts of joy and
disappointment, of half surprise and half expectance; Serena's
reaction, on the other hand, could not be mistaken for anything aside
from what it really was.
Serena fainted.
Darien managed to catch Serena's body before it made contact with
the floor. "Serena! Serena, wake up!"
Wake up, Serena told herself silently as she silently sat in the
passenger seat in Darien's car. Darien was beside her, also silent,
seemingly intent on avoiding conversation, and instead focused on
driving. The embarrassment Serena felt increased threefold, and she
felt blood rushing to her face. She thought, What have I gotten myself
into?
It has been twenty minutes after the hospital scene, and Serena was
thankful it was all over. But her fear remained. She feared that Darien
would get mad at her, that her parents would reject her, that Raye and
Amy would desert her, and that...
Darien pulled off the road, catching Serena's attention.
"Wh-What's wrong?" Serena asked.
Darien deliberately refused to answer. Without a word, he turned off
the stereo, then the engine, and finally turned towards Serena. "You
know exactly what's wrong."
His voice was deep, serious, unlike the many ways that Serena heard
it before. Serena gulped. "I-I don't know what you mean."
With a sigh, Darien ran a hand through his midnight-black hair,
Serena's quivering eyes following her every movement. "Don't play games
with me, Serena. It won't work."
She was unable to reply.
"You know, we're basically in the same boat. None of us wanted this,
to be forced into a lifetime commitment that defies both of our
visions. But, as you know, there is no way out."
Serena's expression began to change. Her eyes narrowed, suspicious.
"What are you getting at?"
Another sigh. "I'm proposing an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"Yes."
"And that is?" Serena prompted.
"Well," Darien said, "for a start, we should get along. Since we're
going to get married, we might as well try to make the best out of it.
You could go on with your life, finish your studies, go shop and do
whatever girls do, with financial support from me. My only condition
would be that you should keep the Chiba name clean, for it is where my
business's success relies on, and that you fulfill your duties as a
wife."
For a while Serena was silent, contempletative. Finally, she
decided. "I agree. But, if you are to have your conditions, I should
have mine too."
This caught Darien off-guard. It never struck him and never did it
enter his mind that Serena would propose her own conditions. Yet, it
was not unreasonable, so Darien nodded.
A smile flashed across her face. "Great. Well, since I have duties
as a wife, you too have your own duties. So, when I need escorts to
parties and such, you should be there."
Darien shrugged. "That's quite easy."
A mischevous grin replaced the genuinely happy smile on Serena's
face. "This marriage being one of convenience and not one of love...
You wouldn't mind if I keep my boyfriend, would you?"
A long, unnerving silence followed the question, and once again
tension filled the lack of sound. The grin Serena wore began to fade
into a grim expression. Her thoughts were racing. 'I hope I didn't
make him mad... I was just joking, I swear!'
These thoughts were interrupted by jingling sounds, which she
realized was coming from the keys Darien was insterting through the
ignition.
Serena was about to apologize when a smile spread on Darien's lips.
"We'll see."
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I'm sorry that this is SO short... Can't think much these days... But
I promise you that something will happen in the next part... I hope you
all like it!